Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 devices went on sale across Europe, Australia and New Zealand today.

Despite the hoopla and launch events, readers have contacted Neowin expressing frustration and anger at the lack of available devices. One reader said a T-Mobile store in Cambridge, UK quoted next week for devices, another based in Belgium has had their pre-order for a HTC 7 Trophy delayed by two weeks. Neowin readers aren't alone though. A quick glance at Microsoft's UK Windows Phone 7 Facebook fan page paints the same picture. "I'd be able to find gold easier than a blooming WP7 phone!" writes Jonathan Brown. Another commenter states they've tried to phone Orange for an upgrade and both the Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC Mozart are unavailable.

Microsoft held a launch event at the Orange store in London's Oxford Street this morning. There was a queue of exactly two people before 7AM. One was Andrew Willett who had been queueing since 5:45 AM, and the other was Simon Stearn. Pocket Gamer said they took to the streets of Manchester to find out about Windows Phone 7 and most salespeople weren't sure when devices would be available. Gadget site Pocket-Lint arrived at the Windows Phone 7 launch in London this morning and labelled it a "damp squib." The site said the store was busy but full of press and public relations (PR) people.

The finger of blame will likely point in HTC's direction alongside operators. Neowin reported yesterday that some HTC handsets would miss the Windows Phone 7 launch date today. The hardware maker denied recent reports of manufacturing delays but several phone retailers in the UK have had their devices delayed by HTC. Stores in New Zealand also received less phones than they had ordered from HTC.

What's your experiences trying to get hold of a Windows Phone 7 device today? Let us know in the comments.